We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new vook: Gary Vaynerchuk’s New York Times bestselling Crush It! We’ve been working with Gary and his team for the past few months and it’s been extremely hard not to talk about how incredible this vook is. Vook is the perfect medium for Gary—instead of just reading his advice, now you can WATCH exclusive, never before seen videos that show you how to succeed doing what you love and READ the entire book with hyperlinks to all the sites, brands, Internet success stories and interesting people that Gary wants you to know about.

You can get the mobile version of Crush It! from the iTunes app store to take Gary with you everywhere. And whether you’re reading it on the go or on your computer and following the extensive links, the vook is the best way to get the most out of Gary’s advice. Reading the vook is like having Gary standing at your shoulder, telling you exactly how to succeed. It’s a brand new experience and it’s an easy, fun way to learn how to do what you love.

We’re proud to be working with Gary Vaynerchuk, the VaynerMedia team, and Debbie Stier and Bob Miller at HarperStudio to release this incredible new product. With complete hyperlinks, excellent video and an elegant, easy to use interface, Crush It! realizes the true scope of the Vook vision.

Watch the trailer!

I’ve been subscribed to the daily email Vital Juice for a few months now—I’m not part of its target demographic, but I’m a fan of the medium and always follow the examples that are particularly well done. So I’m pleased to announce that our Return to Beauty vook was the featured subject of today’s Vital Juice Everywhere edition. The writers did a great job encapsulating the appeal of the vook in a few sharp paragraphs and I particularly liked the fact that they were, “. . . blown away by the lush videos and the super-simple, affordable recipes.”

I worked for years in the daily email business and I know how selective the editors are of the content they’ll feature. The fact that the Return to Beauty vook met their standards—and that they wanted to get behind it and promote it—is a huge vote of confidence in what we’re doing.

Thanks, Vital Juice!

We’re pleased with the reaction to our first vooks—and, as language lovers, we’re intrigued by how the word vook itself has entered the popular lexicon. In April, the word Vook appeared in a New York Times article as a proper noun referring to the company, “Vook,” but the article also employed capital-V Vook to designate a “Vook prototype.” An individual vook, then, remained a proper noun, as if the first book was a “Book.”  Then, on the day of our launch, The New York Times canonized our first releases as “vooks.” The distinction between making Vook a proper noun and making it a general one is critical: We’ve created an entirely new category of media and an entirely new word. Across the Web, vook is entering the lingua franca of digital book discussion. It’s as if the first automobiles were called “fords” instead of Model T’s or cars. We’d all be driving fords today and getting into ford crashes.

Right now, we’re the only ones making vooks. Though we’re happy about the spread of the word as an accepted moniker for every manner of digital book — in a nod to Ford, we’ll call it Vookism —  we’d like to point out that we’re the only ones taking the risk to make the thing itself. So get a vook and let us know what you think of our innovation. Unlike Ford we’re open to suggestion — and this could be your chance to influence media history . . .

We were thrilled to wake up this morning and see that we’re in the New and Noteworthy section on the front page of the iTunes App store. Apple has made our Promises vook a featured application. Written by Jude Deveraux, the Promises vook is a classic love story set on a plantation in the 19th century. The beautifully shot videos tease out the romance and mystery of the story with a graceful, impressionistic approach that reminded of us Terence Malick when we saw the first cuts. It’s this interplay of text and videos that makes Promises special—and it seems that Apple noticed the same thing.

We especially want to single out filmmaker Robert Sobul, who shot, directed and edited Promises, for his amazing work. Robert collaborated with Jude to produce an integrated, moving experience in which the text and videos enhance each other. Robert—congratulations! You did a great job. This recognition from Apple is a sure sign that one of the leading tastemakers in the digital space thinks what you pulled off is fantastic.

Thanks to Robert Sobul, Jude Deveraux—and of course, Apple. We really appreciate being singled out for this great vook!

We couldn’t be more pleased with our launch on Thursday – from a front page article in the New York Times to coverage in the Huffington Post, we had an excellent media response and we’ve been getting great input from a lot of readers. But to improve our product, we need to know what you think. We’ve put together a brief survey online and we’d appreciate it if you took a few minutes to answer the questions. Your responses will help us improve Vook and create vooks that will realize the full potential of this new medium. If you want to complain about Vook—or tell us we’re doing a good job—now is your chance to do it.

And to make it worth your time, we’re going to give away one $100 iTunes® gift card to one randomly chosen survey participant and ten $10 iTunes® gift cards to ten randomly chosen participants.

So take the survey now and maybe you’ll win an iTunes® gift card. We’d greatly appreciate it — if you can answer these quick questions, we’ll have a much better idea of what Vook should look like in the future.

Take the Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.co/s.aspx?sm=UOnBf2f_2bxPPIinc2HgZ8AVQ3d_3d

Official Rules Of VOOK Survey Sweepstakes

Below are the official rules for the Survey Sweepstakes we’re offering for those who fill out our survey on our launch vooks.

• No Purchase Necessary to Enter or Win. Void where prohibited.
• Eligibility: Open only to legal residents of the District of Columbia and the fifty United States who are 18 years of age or older. This Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited or restricted.
• To Enter:  You (”Entrant”) may enter this Sweepstakes by filling out all required sections and successfully transmitting to Sponsor the online survey. Each Entrant who meets all eligibility requirements will be automatically entered in the Sweepstakes.  Alternate E-Mail Entry:  To enter without filling out the online survey, Entrant may send an email with the words “VOOK SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY” in the Subject Line and your complete name, address, home telephone number, and e-mail address to info@vook.com.  Limit one entry per person and/or email address. Incomplete entries are void and will be disqualified.  Sponsor is not responsible for malfunctions of electronic or telephone equipment, computer hardware, software, malfunctions of Entrant’s email provider or ISP, late, lost, incomplete misdirected entries or entries not received in time for the drawing.  Use of a street address is required and cannot include a PO Box, PMB, AP/FPO or similar address.
• Entries as well as answers to the online survey become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned.  Proof of mailing or transmission does not constitute proof of delivery.  Online entries will be deemed to have been submitted by the Entrant utilizing the e-mail address on file with Sponsor. The Sweepstakes begins October 5, 2024 and ends October 7, 2024. Only those entries submitted and received during the aforementioned dates are eligible to win.  In case of a dispute as to the identity of the Entrant using the Internet, the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter the Sweepstakes at the time of entry will be considered the entrant.
• Prizes and Timing : Grand Prize: One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive a $100 iTunes® gift card.  Ten (10) Second Place Winners will receive a $10 iTunes® gift card.  Approximate Value: TOTAL PRIZE VALUE is $200.00.  Approximate retail value (ARV) of prizes is $200.00.  Odds of receiving a prize depend on the number of entries. One winner of the Grand Prize and ten Second Place Winners will be selected by random drawing from all eligible entries received.  To be eligible, entry must comply with these Official Rules and be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 7, 2024.  The drawing will be held on or about October 8, 2024. Winner will be notified by email and/or telephone.
• Miscellaneous: All federal, state and local taxes, and all income and any other taxes, fees and surcharges will be the sole responsibility of the winner.  No substitution, assignment or transfer of prize is permitted except by Sponsor due to unavailability, in which case a similar prize of equal or greater value will be provided. Sponsor is not responsible or liable for the acts of third parties.  Sponsor will not replace any lost or stolen items.  Only stated prizes will be awarded and prizes have no cash value.  The Sweepstakes is governed by the laws of the State of California, with venue and jurisdiction in San Francisco, California, and all claims must be resolved in the courts of San Francisco, California. By entering, Entrant agrees: (1) to release Sponsor from all liability, loss or damage arising out of his/her participation in the Sweepstakes and with respect to his/her acceptance and use/misuse of the prize; (2) to be bound by these Official Rules; and (3) that the decisions of the judges are final and binding on all matters relating to the Sweepstakes. In the event the Sweepstakes is compromised by a non-authorized human intervention or other causes beyond the control of Sponsor which, in the opinion of Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or if the Sweepstakes cannot be operated, conducted or completed as planned, for any reason, Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend, cancel, modify or terminate the Sweepstakes. Should the Sweepstakes be terminated prior to the stated expiration, notice will be posted at http://vook.com/blog.  Winners List: To receive a list of winners after October 8, 2024, mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to:  VOOK LLC, Attention: VOOK Survey SWEEPSTAKES, 1100 Marina Village Parkway, Ste. 102, Alameda, CA  94501. Please write info@vook.com for a copy of the official rules. © 2024.  VOOK LLC.  All Rights Reserved.
• Sponsor:  VOOK LLC, 1100 Marina Village Parkway, Ste. 102, Alameda, CA  94501.

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We were skeptical that we could trade the heft of a good book for reading on a mobile device, but once we exchanged William Vollmann’s massive Europe Central for the iPhone version, we became committed multi-platform readers. Mobile books let us fit more books into our lives and (for those who decry the collapse of literature) buy books we otherwise wouldn’t — which supports more authors. We knew that Vook had to have a mobile complement and it had to offer content and value.

We created mobile versions of each of our launch titles—Promises by Jude Deveraux, The 90 Second Fitness Solution by Pete Cerqua, Embassy by Richard Doetsch and Return to Beauty by Narine Nikogosian. The mobile versions have all the text and video content of the Web based vook – and they let you follow the author and the community associated with the book through social media.

Here are some of the key features of our mobile vooks:

•    Mobile vooks feature the same text and the same great video content, optimized for the for iPhone and iPod touch for a truly engaging on the go reading experience.
•    Videos download directly to your device so you can watch the videos anywhere, anytime you want.
•    On the mobile vook, you can choose to watch the videos with the “Watch” functionality or watch and read with the “Read” functionality. The “Connect” functionality lets you connect to social media outlets to follow the conversation about the vooks.
•    The videos play in high quality, high resolution, offering the same crispness and clarity as their counterparts on the browser.

For those of you who might be skeptical about reading on your iPhone, please try one of these vooks. We think the integration of video and text on the mobile platform makes us unique on the market—and we want to know what books could be adapted to this format to make the most of it. Right now, the mobile vooks are only available for the iPhone and iPod touch but as other devices adapt to video content, we’ll be working to release our vooks to them as well.

VOOK PROMOTION!

We’ve had a great response to our launch—and we want to make sure that everyone tries a vook as both a browser and mobile experience. We’ve got five free access codes for the iTunes app versions of each of our vooks. To get a free iTunes app, buy a browser based vook and have a friend buy a browser based vook, then send both purchase confirmations to Matthew@vook.com and we’ll send you an access code to download your free copy of the vook’s iTunes app. We’ve only got five access codes for each vook to give away, so get your vook—and have your friends get a vook—before they’re all gone!

GET YOUR VOOKS NOW!

Legal Terms:

1) Free APP giveaway limited to five (5) iTunes applications for one of Vook’s current titles.

2) Free application must be redeemed by October 31, 2024.

3) Free iTunes applications given away on a first come, first served basis to the first five paying customers whose email to matthew@vook.com contains two (2) fully-paid purchase confirmations for any two browser-based vooks.

4) Limit one free iTunes application per customer.

5) iTunes applications may not be substituted for cash or another item.

6) Void where prohibited.

The Vook Team is pleased to announce today the launch of our first vooks, all published in partnership with Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. These four titles—Promises, a romance by Jude Deveraux, The 90 Second Fitness Solution, a fitness book by Pete Cerqua, Embassy, a thriller by Richard Doetsch and Return to Beauty, a health book by Narine Nikogosian—elegantly realize Vook’s mission: to blend a book with videos into one complete, instructive and entertaining story.

As you will see from experiencing one yourself, a vook is an entirely new innovation—there’s nothing else like it available. A vook lets you read books and watch videos that enhance the reading experience, either by illustrating key moments in works of fiction or demonstrating important techniques and concepts for non-fiction. With a vook, you can read, watch and connect all in one place, without the hassle of switching between a book, your computer and your TV.

To see why we’re so excited, please check out our launch titles on our product page. There, you can get a vook and find out for yourself why Vook is both a vital innovation for books and a powerful new way for readers to engage with them. Try a vook on your computer or download one to your iPhone or iPod Touch at the Apple iTunes Store.

We’re not the only ones convinced that Vook is the future of reading. We are pleased to join forces with Simon & Schuster, one of the world’s leading publishing houses, to release these initial titles. These four titles are a true joint venture—Simon and Schuster represents the best of publishing’s editorial expertise while Vook contributes the understanding of engaging visual content, the power of video production and technological expertise.

Simon & Schuster’s authors—Jude Deveraux, Richard Doetsch, Pete Cerqua and Narine Nikogosian—have all been strong champions of the Vook platform. Their understanding of books, video and the Internet have made them the perfect partners for our filmmakers. And Vook’s filmmakers have risen to the challenge of crafting a visual story to complement these author’s narratives. Filmmakers Michael Franchetti, Adad Warda, Christopher Chambers, Mario de la Vega, Chris Cassidy and Robert Sobul all contributed their visions to create videos that raise the quality of our vooks above any other offering on the market.

You can expect to see many more vooks coming soon. But right now, we’d love it if you would check out one of our inaugural titles and let us know what you think. We’re thrilled to share our hard work. If you’ve been following our story from the beginning, then you know that we’re committed to revolutionizing books and helping devoted readers — readers like ourselves — get more out of every moment they spend with a great book. If we have our way, you’re soon going to pick up a great book and wonder what it would be like if it was a great vook.

Thank you for all your support. Please check out one of our launch titles and let us know what you think by emailing the team at info@vook.com.

PROMISES by Jude Deveraux ($6.99) – a novella set in 19th century South Carolina, from the beloved author of 36 New York Times bestsellers.

THE 90-SECOND FITNESS SOLUTION by Pete Cerqua ($6.99) – an innovative new fitness program from one of New York’s most respected trainers that can be practiced at home, in the office, or using Vook’s mobile application, at the gym.

EMBASSY by Richard Doetsch ($6.99) – a suspenseful thriller from the bestselling author of THE THIEVES OF HEAVEN

RETURN TO BEAUTY by Narine Nikogosian ($6.99) – natural, old-World, time tested skin care recipes from a well-known Hollywood aesthetician.